Reps urge CBN, Customs to resolve grey areas on e-valuation, e-invoicing

The House joint committees on Customs and Excise and Banking and Currencies has  asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to interface with the Nigeria Customs Service to resolve grey areas on its (CBN) planned implementation of electronic valuation and electronic invoicing policy for the service.

The chairman of the Committee on Customs and Excise, Leke Abejide, gave the directive when the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Customs Service and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) appeared before the committees to make their presentations on the new policy.

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The committees also directed the CBN to suspend the implementation of the policy pending proper resolution.

The CBN had on January 21 issued a circular on guidelines on imports and export businesses in Nigeria, with Reference Number TED/FEM/FPC/PUB/01/001 to take effect from February 1, 2022, 10 days after the issuance of the guidelines.

But there have been concerns that the sudden introduction of the policy without adequate consultations with relevant stakeholders for inputs could lead to policy summersaults.

In his presentation, ACG Galadima Saidu of the Nigerian Customs Service expressed concerns that the implementation of the new policy by the CBN would adversely affect the Customs Service and the country’s economy.

He maintained that the introduction of additional fees or charges and procedures through the e-valuator will affect Nigerian traders and the economy adversely.

In his presentation, Director General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi-Kadiri, said the CBN needed to give room for at least 90 days for various stakeholders to interface and deliberate on the policy before its take off.

Earlier in his presentation, Dr Ozoemena Nnaji, Director, Trade and Exchange Department at the CBN, said the price verification system of the apex bank was set up to help manage the foreign exchange of the country by ensuring that foreign exchange is allocated for eligible transactions.

He said an analysis of trade invoicing in Nigeria in 2014 showed that the potential loss of revenue to the government was approximately N2.2 billion for the year.